Teenagers sharpen skills at footy training academy

Teenagers taking part in Country Rugby League's Greater Northern Academy at Scully Park in Tamworth.

Photo: Courtesy www.crlnsw.com.au

Around 40 teenage rugby league players converged on Scully Park in Tamworth at the weekend for a training session run by Country Rugby League's Greater Northern Academy.

The session brought together 15 and 16 year olds from across the region, including Tenterfield, Wee Waa, Narrabri, Moree and Tamworth, as well as Singleton and Merriwa in the Upper Hunter.

Greater Northern Regional Manager, Scott Bone, says coaches were able to pass on important technical skills associated with the game of Rugby League.

"You know our session is mainly focussed on on-field stuff so the core skills of the game, things such as catching and passing, tackle technique, what lines they run and where they need to run so they're not running into big blokes all the time," he said.

But Scott Bone says, while the focus is on technical skills, the training also looks at balancing the players' development off the field.

"The main focus is obviously trying to improve them as a player but, hopefully, we can also help them off-field," he said.

"[That includes] improving themselves as they go through their young years and also helping them off-field, so thinking about their careers and what they think they might be going to do in the future," he said.